Chapter 41 – Uninvited Guests & Unfinished Business**

The ride home was supposed to be uneventful.

Xavier leaned back in the leather seat of his Rolls-Royce Phantom, one hand resting lazily on his knee while the other held a glass of whiskey. The city lights blurred past the tinted windows, but his mind was elsewhere. **Lila Evernight had come unannounced**, just as **Vivienne had requested a meeting** earlier that day.

It wasn’t a coincidence.

Reed sat beside him, sleeves rolled up, the top buttons of his navy-blue shirt undone. He tapped against his phone, lazily scrolling through messages. “So, what do you think Lila really wanted? A deal? Or just to cause trouble?”

Xavier exhaled sharply. “It’s never just trouble with them. Vivienne’s reaching for something.” His golden eyes darkened. “And I don’t like it.”

Reed smirked. “Well, at least we got to watch her squirm a little. That was fun.”

Xavier didn’t respond. Something nagged at the back of his mind. An instinct.

Then his phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen. **One of his men.**

Xavier answered, his voice cold. “What?”

There was a slight hesitation on the other end before the man spoke. “Sir, we had an uninvited guest today.”

Xavier’s grip on the glass tightened. “Who?”

The answer came like a gunshot. **“Alpha Kieran Wolfe.”**

Reed’s head snapped up.

Silence stretched in the car, thick and suffocating.

The man continued, “He was here for about thirty minutes. Left a while ago.”

Xavier’s blood ran cold.

**Kieran had come to his estate.**

Where **Raine** was.

Xavier’s voice was eerily calm. “Did he touch her?”

“No, sir,” the man replied quickly. “But he asked for her.”

Xavier ended the call.

The car swerved as he barked, **“Drive faster.”**

\---

\### **Back at the Estate**

Raine was **pissed.**

She paced across the living room, arms crossed, her entire body **thrumming with frustration.**

Kieran had been here. **Here.** At **Xavier’s estate.**

**What the hell was he thinking?**

Ivy sat on the couch, legs crossed, sipping a cocktail like this was some kind of reality show. “I have to say, watching him get kicked out was satisfying.”

Raine shot her a glare. “This isn’t funny.”

Ivy shrugged. “It’s kind of funny.”

Reed had **almost killed Kieran on the spot**, but Raine had stepped in before things got violent.

Still, Kieran had **looked at her like she was something different. Something he didn’t expect.**

His eyes had roamed over her in a way that made her skin crawl. Not the way he used to look at her **with disgust**, but as if he was **realizing something too late.**

“Pathetic,” Raine muttered under her breath.

Then the front doors **burst open.**

The **energy shifted.**

Xavier walked in, his **golden eyes sharp with lethal intent.** His shirt was unbuttoned just enough to reveal a hint of his chest, his sleeves still rolled up from work, but the casual look didn’t make him **any less dangerous.**

Reed was right behind him, arms crossed.

Xavier’s eyes immediately landed on Raine. **Assessing. Searching.**

She swallowed.

“Where is he?” Xavier’s voice was smooth, **too smooth.**

Ivy smirked. “Relax, Alpha. Your rival already left with his tail between his legs.”

Xavier’s jaw flexed.

“Did he touch you?” His voice was lower now, sharper.

Raine blinked. “What? No.”

His gaze didn’t waver. “Did he say anything to you?”

Raine hesitated. The way **Kieran had stared at her**, the way he had said, **“You’ve changed.”** Like she wasn’t the same weak Omega he rejected.

“It doesn’t matter,” she finally said. “He’s gone.”

Xavier exhaled through his nose, slow and controlled. But **his eyes burned.**

Reed, however, smirked. “You should have seen him, man. The second he saw Raine, he looked like he saw a ghost. Couldn’t believe his eyes.”

Ivy laughed. “Yeah, he definitely wasn’t expecting our girl to look like an absolute goddess.”

Xavier’s jaw tensed. “What else?”

Raine crossed her arms. “Why does it matter?”

He looked at her. **Really looked at her.**

And suddenly, the space between them felt too small.

The air crackled.

His voice was lower when he said, **“Because he doesn’t get to come here and look at you like that.”**

Something dark swirled in his golden eyes. Something **possessive.**

Ivy let out a dramatic sigh. “I love this energy. Tension. Drama. It’s giving ‘ex-lovers and dangerous rivals’—”

“Shut up, Ivy,” Reed said, rolling his eyes.

Raine narrowed her gaze. “Well, he did. And you weren’t here to stop it.”

A muscle in Xavier’s jaw twitched.

For once, he **didn’t have a retort.**

Ivy smirked. “Oooh, burn.”

Xavier stepped closer. “You think I’d ever let him touch you?”

Raine lifted her chin. “I don’t need you to protect me.”

Xavier was quiet for a moment. **Then he smirked.**

Slowly. Darkly.

He took another step, now standing right in front of her. The heat from his body **seeped into her skin.**

“Is that so?” His voice was smooth. **Dangerous.**

Raine refused to step back. “Yes.”

His golden eyes **flickered with amusement.** “Then tell me… why do I make you nervous?”

She clenched her fists. “I’m not.”

Liar.

Xavier’s smirk deepened. “Then why is your heart beating so fast?”

Her breath hitched.

Damn him.

Ivy nudged Reed. “We should leave.”

Reed raised a brow. “Why?”

Ivy gave him a pointed look.

Reed blinked, then realization hit. “Ohhh. Yeah. Let’s go.”

They disappeared up the stairs.

Raine swallowed hard. Xavier’s **scent was intoxicating—** cedarwood and something dark, something dangerous.

“Raine.” His voice was lower now.

Almost… seductive.

She hated that it made her shiver.

“Why do you always push me away?” His fingers brushed against her wrist, **barely touching, but enough to set her skin on fire.**

She swallowed. “I don’t—”

“Don’t lie to me.”

His grip tightened slightly, **not forceful, just enough to remind her who he was.**

And for some **stupid, reckless reason… she liked it.**

But she couldn’t.

Not with **him.**

Raine **snatched her hand away.**

“You’re a playboy, Xavier.” Her voice was cold. “You don’t want me. You just like the chase.”

His eyes darkened.

“You really believe that?”

“Yes.”

Xavier exhaled, **slowly.** Then, to her **absolute shock,** he laughed.

Dark. Low. **Dangerous.**

He stepped closer again, this time forcing her to step back until her **back hit the wall.**

“Little wolf,” he murmured, tilting his head. “I’ve never had to chase anyone in my life.”

Her breath caught.

His hands rested on either side of her, **caging her in.**

“Tell me to stop,” he whispered.

She **should.**

She **really, really should.**

But she didn’t.

And Xavier knew it.

His smirk returned, slow and sinful. “That’s what I thought.”

Then, he leaned in—

And **the front door suddenly burst open.**

Reed’s voice rang out, sharp and amused. “Uh, guys? We have a problem.”

Xavier didn’t turn. “What now?”

Reed’s smirk faded.

“It’s Vivienne Evernight.”

Xavier stilled.

So did Raine.

And just like that, the moment was shattered.

Raine exhaled, her body still humming with electricity.

But Xavier’s golden eyes **were no longer teasing.**

They were cold. Ruthless.